English Clubs

As the 2015-16 Premier League season draws to a close, it’s time to honor and award those whose performances have captivated us over the course of the last nine months. It’s also a great time to shame those whose performances call into question the morality behind million dollar contracts and the myth of the sporting superhuman. These are the players whose performances will stick with us for all the wrong reasons; the biggest underachievers and flops of the 2015-16 Premier League season. 

Some real Green Street Hooligan s*** happened today. The famous movie surrounding West Ham soccer hooligans pretty much came to fruition ahead of the Hammers' final match at the Boleyn Ground. Upon lovable Manchester United's arrival, Hammer fans took to the street to throw any and everything at the Red Devils bus. And when we say any and everything, we mean it. It caused a 45 minute delay to the match, and it was absolute madness. Check it out:

Liverpool couldn't have picked a better time to play their best game of the year. The Red Men completely overwhelmed Villarreal in the second leg of the Europa League semi-finals, 3-0, after losing the first leg, 1-0.

The match saw world-class performances by Emre Can, Nathaniel Clyne and Roberto Firmino in particular, but no one in the squad could be said to have played poorly.

And one man was even more world-class than the rest.

Here's a sampling of miracles Liverpool have managed during the modern (read: Steven Gerrard and newer) era:

Yaya Toure’s UEFA Champions League testimonial match went off without a hitch on Wednesday, the Manchester City midfielder ponderously strolling around the Bernabéu pitch and gently reminding his teammates not to forget his going away cake.

Like Ernest Hemingway’s aging Cuban fisherman Santiago, it almost certainly would've taken 85 days of play before Toure could've netted a goal against Real Madrid.    

After a largely drama-free edition of the Champions League semi-finals, we get an already drama-filled Madrid Derby Champions League final. This will be fun.

It almost didn't happen, though, as the second leg of Manchester City vs. Real Madrid was nearly as much of a snoozer as the first leg. Gareth Bale supplied one piece of entertainment when his shot/cross/thing hit Fernando's leg and then went past Joe Hart and into the net.

After seven largely successful years in charge of France’s AS Monaco, Arsene Wenger had certified his reputation as one of the most promising young managers in football.

He’d led Monaco to the Ligue 1 title in 1988 and a Coupe de France triumph in 1991. They’d also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 1994, leading to interest from Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen in the managerial services of Wenger.

He'd built his reputation as an astute, multilingual and forward-thinking coach who was capable of building and nurturing young squads.

Manchester City wants to be the biggest football club in the world and your new favorite team. This is what they’re doing to accomplish that goal.

Manchester City Wants to be Your New Best Friend:

Since City were taken over by the then little-known Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) in 2008, massive changes have been undertaken in the city of Manchester and English football in general.

The absurd reality of Leicester City claiming the Premier League title was made to wait for at least another week following a draw between Leicester City and Manchester United. Leicester City were denied the fulfillment of their season long excellence as Anthony Martial’s early strike negated Wes Morgan’s 17th minute header to force the sides to settle for a draw.   

Anthony Martial’s eighth minute goal